Fear of bad body odour (autodysomophobia)

Autodysomophobia is listed as a fear of being near someone who smells unpleasant. It can make crowded trains, gyms or lifts hard to bear, and some people feel strong disgust or panic at a sudden strong smell. The term is also sometimes used for worry about smelling bad yourself.

About this phobia

The word is built from the Greek parts auto, meaning self, dys, meaning bad, and osme, meaning smell, which is why it is sometimes read as fear of your own odour. It is rarely reported and found mostly on lists of phobias. Persistent worry about your own smell is described in clinical writing as olfactory reference disorder, a separate and better documented condition.

What it feels like

• Holding the breath or moving away on public transport
• Strong disgust or nausea at certain body smells
• Avoiding gyms, crowds or close contact

Explore more unusual fears in the rare phobias A to Z, or browse the common phobias.

Common questions

What if the worry is about my own smell?

Persistent worry that you smell bad, even when others notice nothing, is worth raising with a GP. It can be linked to anxiety or to olfactory reference disorder, and help is available. Checking for any physical cause can also give peace of mind.

How can you help?

I use hypnotherapy and NLP to change how your mind responds to the thing you fear, so the old alarm stops going off. Sessions are one to one over Zoom, and you get a recording of the hypnosis to listen to afterwards.

How many sessions will I need?

Many clients notice a real difference after one 90 minute session. If the fear goes back a long way, three sessions gives us room to make the change stick.

Ready to start?

Book a £49 consultation call and we’ll talk through your fear, or take the free suitability test first.

See all session options and prices